Artist – Colin Carruthers
Colin Carruthers was born in 1963 in Antrim in Northern Ireland where he spent his early childhood. He lived in Germany for a time and at various places in the U.K., moving to Birmingham, U.K. in 1985. Having studied Fine Art at Margaret Street, Birmingham, in 1994, Colin was drawn towards painting and completed a B.A. Honours degree in 1997.
Colin paints with oils, acrylics and watercolours and often works with a palette knife – creating textured surfaces by applying paint to the canvas as thickly as possible. The oil paint dries slowly, allowing him to build layers in which the marks of the palette knife are often still visible – creating interesting and dramatic effects. When he is not painting in his studio, Colin likes to make trips to the countryside and coast and continues to draw inspiration from his travels. He enjoys the experience of being outdoors and emotionally connecting with the landscape and its surroundings and particularly likes visiting the Western Isles in Scotland. He may visit the same place at different times, but each time the place is changed by the light, the weather and the flora, and that inspires him to draw and paint and to experience the place afresh – as if visiting it for the first time.
Born: Antrim, Northern Ireland, 1963
Educated: B.A.(Honours) Fine Art, (BIAD), Pass (2.1) 1997
Solo Exhibitions
- Feb 2018: An Exhibition of New Paintings – Purple Gallery, Bournville
- Feb 2017: Journey – Purple Gallery, Bournville, Birmingham
- Feb 2015: Here and There…. – Purple Gallery, Bournville, Birmingham
- May 2014: Impressions of the City of Light – A Stroll Through Paris- Courcoux & Courcoux, Stockbridge, Hampshire
- Feb 2014: New Paintings (Oils & Mixed Media) – Purple Gallery, Bournville, Birmingham
- Nov 2013: From Harris to Mull – The Western Isles – Courcoux & Courcoux Contemporary Art, Stockbridge, Hampshire
- Feb 2012: Land, Sea and Sky – Purple Gallery, Bournville, Birmingham
- Nov 2011: Beyond the Horizon – McAllister Thomas Fine Art, Godalming, Surrey
- Feb 2011: An Exhibition of New Paintings – Purple Gallery, Bournville, Birmingham
- Apr 2010: The Granary Gallery, Weston Park, Shropshire
- Apr 2008: Landscapes, Seascapes and the Test Valley – Courcoux & Courcoux Contemporary Art, Hampshire
- Apr 2006: At the Edges of the Land – Purple Gallery, Bournville, Birmingham
Group Exhibitions
- 2017-18 The Wykeham Gallery, Stockbridge, Hampshire, England
- 2016-18 The Hunter Gallery, Long Melford, Suffolk, England
- 2016-18 Wren Gallery, Burford, Oxfordshire, England
- 2013-18 White Space Art Gallery, Totnes, Devon, England
- 2012-18 Blue Tree Gallery, York, England
- 2010-17 Red Rag Gallery, Bath, Avon, England
- 2006-18 The Albany Gallery, Cardiff, Wales
- 2006-17 Courcoux & Courcoux Gallery, Hampshire, England
- 2006-15 Artery Gallery, St. Andrew’s, Fife, Scotland
- 2005-18 Purple Gallery, Bournville, England
- 2009-13 McAllister Thomas Fine Art, Godalming, Surrey, England
- 2007-10 Woodbine Contemporary Arts, Lincolnshire, England
- 2007-08 The Hallward Gallery , Dublin, Eire
- 2006-07 Millcove Gallery, Castletownbere, County Cork, Eire
- 2004-16 Obsidian Art Gallery, Stoke Manderville, England
- 2003 St Paul’s The Crossing, Walsall, England
- 2002 Harborne Gallery, Birmingham, England
- 2001/04 The University of Birmingham, England
- 2001 North Ayrshire, Scotland
- 2001 Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, England
- 1998 The Arcadian, Birmingham, England
- 1998 Birmingham International Airport, England
- 1996 The Custard Factory, Birmingham, England
- 1996 The Concourse Gallery, London, England
Collections
- Birmingham Heartlands Hospital
- University of Central England
- Private Collectors: (Australia, Canada, Finland, N Zealand, Russia, U.K. U.S.A.)